Post-Game Quotes: Eastern Michigan
11/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement...
You have to give Murph a lot of credit with his team. They have a lot of new guys, five new starters. I thought the first half they hurt us on some dribble drives. It was kind of fun to be in my locker room the last twenty minutes, because Magic came in and reiterated almost everything that DJ and I and Dane talked about from the bench. I think that when he talked it made a little difference. We didn't guard as well early, we did not do a very good job at our post. I mean, I like this kid, Thompson a lot, I think that the Magnum kid is going to be very good. That's going to be a very good basketball team.
We played a lot better the start of the second half than we did the other night so we made some improvements. Still playing too many people. I think I played twelve guys who played seven minutes or more and that's going to be a little chaotic but I am continuously trying to figure out who are going to be my 8, 9, and 10, and who are going to be my 11, 12, 13, and 14. It is starting to separate itself.
I think Eastern did a very good job. I think that Thomas kid, we said maybe is as good offensive rebounding man, even though he only ended up with four. But, I'm telling you that kid played hard from the first play of the game.
We thought we got the ball to Matt better. He had ten shots; he just missed some good shots. Some went in but you know he could have had a double-double and a couple of those assists that we missed on him there. Some of those hurt Denzel a little bit. So, I think they are starting to realize that players have team goals and then have individual goals. You need the team to accomplish the individual things. That's a good thing to have to deal with, but Murph has been a good friend of mine for a long time. I think he was a great high school coach; he did a great job at Syracuse. He helped us get Maurice Ager, who was a great player here. The guy has won 20 games in two years. He's going to be good. And so right now we are just trying to figure out how we get better.
I'll answer some questions and then I'll talk a little bit about the tournaments since you guys won't be here. I'll talk a little about our football team if you'd like. I'll talk about our kicker - I wanted to kiss him when he was in the stands.
On Javon Bess...
Yeah, we were really disappointed the first half, you know. Then the second half, you are exactly right. In fact, players went after him, Denzel, in fact. He played aggressively; he did get to the line early, which is really great. He got to the line 12 times, which was what he was doing last year. He got six boards. He did finish a little bit in there, he started running the court a little bit. I couldn't agree more, he was the difference to start that second half and you know, we do have to get Matt and DD - both of them struggled tonight. If DD just loses focus, he loses things. We're going to keep on him about that. But Javon was definitely a bright spot, especially in the second half.
On Deyonta's emotion and technical foul...
No, I would have taken that tech the first time. But then after that first time, I saw it on film. But I told him before the Kansas game that he can't be doing that in games because it is disrespectful to the other team and people are going to `T' us. So he got what he deserved. It just bothered me because I had talked to him about it, where I had given him some slack and told him the way that it was - there was no slack this time. That is inexcusable. He has done it enough times, and yes, I appreciate the emotion but have some emotion toward our fans, toward our players, but do not have emotion to another player and another team.
On picking it up in the second half...
It was better. The second half was much, much better than the other day. And then at the very end we gave up about three or four 3's. At one point, they were 3-for-15, and ended up 2-for-15. I think they ended up making three of their last five shots or four shots from the 3-line. So that was a little disappointing. I thought we did good with our turnovers then there at the end I think we turned it over four times. It was nine then it turns to 13. I know you're going to say that those don't mean everything and when is he going to be happy but you know I'm trying to evaluate guys still, I really am. Marv thinks he is going to bounce back after missing nine weeks and think everything is going to go his way but it didn't. Alvin played pretty good the first half and then struggled, struggled the second half. So you know, I'm starting to get some separation in there. It's about over now - Boston College, and then either Irvine or Boise. And then either Arizona or whoever. And not that Kansas wasn't, but it's going to ratchet up a lot and we're going to have to get down into a playing groove here pretty quick. And other than Schilling who would have played a lot tonight, we're starting to get in somewhat form.
On individual players' performance...
I think Harris is starting to look like the guy that we all know he is. I still thought a couple times he could have pulled it. I am either telling him not to shoot it from four feet behind the 3-point, but everywhere else I want him to shoot. And other than a couple times, he had shots that he didn't take, as did McQuaid. But it's alright, McQuaid had five assists, Harris had four - made some great assists on the break. He's starting to look a little like a Charlie Bell - I like that. I think he took a serious step in the right direction for sure. You know, we don't even talk about Denzel much - because he just had nine rebounds, 12 points, seven assists, two turnovers - a whole `hum-day' for him. I didn't think that we did a good job on getting him the ball. We have to make sure that we get him the shots. But our game plan was to go inside. Deyonta had 10 shots, Costello had 10. That's good. Deyonta did a little something more with his shots, we have to find some balance. 64 shots, we're trying to hit high sixties so more guys get a chance, and if you don't turn it over 13 times, and can keep that at eight or nine, or add some more shots where we are at 68, 69. That's what we are looking for.
On what Magic Johnson's message was to the team following the game...
The guy is amazing. He watches every game from out there and the only reason I know that is because he can talk about every player and everything. He felt that the dribble penetration in the first half was not very good. He felt that our bigs should have dominated in there just because of bulk alone, and we didn't. Those were his two negatives and then finishing the game. He let Denzel know that it's the captain's job to make sure the games get finished. I've been telling my players that we look at football and try to learn from everybody. Think about it, we've won two football games with no time left on the clock. That's playing 60 minutes. We've got to play the full 40. The full 40 may not have mattered today as far as a win and a loss, but it would matter as far as getting used to finishing games. That's still the battle cry. He said it best, we're not going to allow that to happen. I could have kissed him. The kicker (Michael Geiger), Magic (Earvin Johnson)... man, my wife's going to be jealous.
On Deyonta Davis getting into the feel of things now...
Deyonta's stats were a lot better than his play tonight. He's coming. If he's got enough emotion to yell at a player when he dunks or when he gets a rebound or blocks a shot, I wish he'd get that much emotion running up and down the court or defending like he should be. He's going to learn. He's getting better. He's come so far. But I thought that first half he played like he did in the state tournament, not very good. I give (James) Thompson a lot of credit, he took it to our big guys. Second half, I thought DD was a little bit better. We're looking for a consistent level of play. We were a little up and down, certain guys tonight. Denzel, Bryn, Tum and Eron tonight we're pretty consistent. Even JB (Javon Bess), I thought he was average the first half, very consistent the second half. We're getting more guys, but we've got to get some of our big guys. Right now that's hurting us not to have (Gavin) Schilling and putting a little pressure on our big guys. I think our guards are playing better because they know playing time is around the corner. That's why I say it's great as a coach when you don't determine playing time, they do. It's kind of a fun feeling.
On if Schilling is definitely not going to play in California...
No, it doesn't look like it. After talking to (Gonzaga coach) Mark Few about (Kevin) Pangos, the guard he had, he just couldn't get him a rest and it lingered all year, and we're not going to do that. He is feeling a little better, but I'd say we're a solid week away and maybe longer, which is concerning when we're on this seven games in 15-16 days, and come back early in the morning Monday and play Wednesday against Louisville. We've got to get through this stretch. We've got a lot of games ahead of us here, and we could use Gavin. Hopefully Marv (Marvin Clark Jr.) will continue to improve a little bit. He had some good moments and some bad moments, but that's to be expected with the eight, nine weeks he had off.
On Tum Tum Nairn's offensive game...
I feel for Tum Tum right now. I'm telling you, he's such a much improved shooter and nobody knows it, and I don't blame anybody for questioning it. He worked his tail off and was so good. He's got a little plantar fasciitis, he's got a boot on all but practice time and game time. He has not been in the gym in a month and a half. He's not been able to come in there and shoot. It's hurt him a little bit, it really has. Even when he doesn't shoot he brings so much to the table for me and maybe it's important that he brings a lot to the table for Denzel. Denzel thinks the world of Tum and that's a good thing. He's fighting through it, he's tougher than nails. We do need him to score a little bit more, we do need him to make some of those shots. The shot isn't broken, he just needs the reps. I really don't know how bad the foot is, I know it's not great. I don't know how bad it is because he definitely lied through his teeth about it, and that's the way it's going to be.
On the importance of getting to the free throw line early (17 in first half)...
That's something we haven't done a very good job of here at Michigan State the last couple of years. To be honest, I want to get there over 25 times a game. But if we can get in the 22, 23, 24 like tonight, that's a real benefit, especially if we shoot 75-80 percent. We started out, I think Javon was 3-for-6 and then made the next six. Bryn missed one, that's surprising. Other than that, we shot pretty well from the line. We're not getting enough guys there. (Matt) Costello is one of our best free throw shooters and he's never getting there because everything's a fall away right now instead of taking it to the rack. We're going to work on that. Tomorrow's going to be a good practice.
On wanting to get Bryn Forbes more/better shots...
The reason is, well, what did Bryn play tonight, 22 minutes. Eventually those guys will get up around 27-29. We've got to get Bryn more shots and when you're playing with a bunch of different guys like we have right now they've don't have a feel for one another and that creates some problems. You've got to get some chemistry between those 3-5 guards and we will do that. It's a concern. I don't want Zel getting nine shots. We've gone stretches where he doesn't seem to get a shot. Like I said, we had a concerted effort to go inside. We thought we could score some buckets down there. I guess DD scored a little bit but it wasn't really on post touches, he scored on lobs and things like that. That's why tomorrow's going to just be a beat'em up practice for those bigs. I can promise you that.
On getting the 500th win...
I swear to you I don't say this with humility, I don't know why. Yay, Izzo got 500, he's only 500 behind Krzyzewski. What's the big deal? It's probably more important than I give it, but I'm still more worried about banners than I am about wins. What I like about wins is being consistent. It's just another number. Right now I'm more worried about going out and winning a tournament. Boston College, Jimmy [Christian] is a good friend of mine and worked for Tom Crean for a little bit but he's on that coaching staff now. They're doing pretty well, they're 3-0. They're shooting the ball better, and they have a transfer from Florida who is good. They just beat Harvard by 10 or 12. Harvard is a pretty good team, so that's concerning. If we get by them, we have another tough game. Both teams made the NCAA tournament last year. If everything went like it's supposed to go we'll get to play Arizona. I can't look past the first game but I think the teams we are playing in this tournament are different. You see all big names, but sometimes it's harder to play teams like Boise State, we struggled with them at home a couple years ago. They are very well coached. There's not a lot of prep time. We have practice tomorrow and then we fly out and it's Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Whether we win or lose I don't think we will get back until 6 a.m. on Monday. Then we play Wednesday. We are on a NBA track right now so we'll need more depth, that's one advantage of having it. I'm excited that we're playing decent. When you win by 20 or 30 and be a little bit unhappy. I'm just totally amazed at the number of teams that have been upset this year already. So I hope that teaches our guys that they have to be ready to play every game, and we better be ready to play out there. Hopefully we can bring home a championship, that's what we have to learn to do. See if you can be consistent and disciplined and that's what we're going to try to do.
In Closing...
I wanted to close on two things, one good and one bad. I just wanted to give Mark [Dantonio] credit for what he did. I just love the way our crowd responded to the kicker. The coolest thing about this place is everybody sticks together. There is a lot of that going on right now. I'm blessed for that. With Coach Carr losing his grandson, Chad, today, he's been not only a great coach in this state, but he's been a friend of mine. Graduated from the same school. I just texted him today and let him know that our thoughts and prayers are with him on a courageous fight that his grandson had. I can't imagine what that would be like. I swear my prayers go out to him, his son, his family and everybody else. Hopefully things will work out for him to the best they can.
Sophomore Forward Javon Bess
On the difference in play from the first half to the second half...
I just think in the second half we came out more aggressive. In the first half we were okay, but for the level that we want to be at we weren't there yet. So I just think that in the second half we came out more aggressive.
On breaking Eastern Michigan's zone...
In the second half, we just beat them before they even got into the zone. That's what coached stressed. He actually stressed that in practice, we just didn't do it in the first half as good as we did it in the second half. We got it out and before they could even set up we were running down the court.
On what they will take into the California road-trip next week...
It's a learning experience. We need to do what we did well. We pushed the ball well, we got turnovers and dribble-drived. That's something we've been stressing all season.
Senior Guard Denzel Valentine
On the slow start...
In the first half I felt like we came out a little flat. They brought the intensity, credit to Eastern. We just needed to respond and we responded in the second half.
On the adjustments the team made coming out of the half...
We were trying to run and get out in transition in the second half, we did a good job of that. I thought Eron (Harris) and Matt McQuaid did a good job of pushing it. The big guys did a good job of running and got some easy buckets, the next thing you know we were up big.
On what the team needs to work on coming out of this game...
We just need to come out with a better start. That slow start can't happen against some good teams that we're going to play. The next thing you know, we'll be down 20 or something if we we're playing away or on the road. We need to come out with a good start and play the whole 40 minutes. That'll be key.
On his excitement for the road trip to California...
I can't wait to get out there. It's warm and we'll be playing some top notch competition. Getting away from East Lansing and the cold a little bit will be nice and being able to play some great teams.
Freshman Forward Deyonta Davis
On what he felt like he did well...
Running down the floor and looking for the ball. I was just trying to stay active.
On the biggest difference between the first and second half...
Well, he just wanted us to push the ball. In the first half we didn't really focus in but in the second, we settled in.
On what the team needs to work on moving forward...
Go after it. We need to just keep working hard.
